‘Unacceptable’: Potholes have killed more people than terrorists, says Supreme Court

This indicates the administration’s lack of interest in prioritising road safety, said a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur.

According to the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, 14,926 people died in accidents caused by potholes between 2013 and 2017
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The Supreme Court on Thursday said more people are likely killed in accidents caused by potholes on Indian roads than in border areas or terrorist attacks and said it was unacceptable, PTI reported. The top court’s observations follow the submission of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety’s report that said between 2013 and 2017 14,926 people died in accidents caused by potholes.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur asked the Centre to respond to the report. “So many people are dying in the country due to accidents caused by potholes on roads,” the court said. “Reports say that more people have died due to accident caused by potholes than the deaths in terrorists attacks.” The court said this indicates the administration’s lack of interest in prioritising road safety.

The court scheduled the next hearing for January.

In July, a report in The Times of India claimed that potholes across the country killed 3,597 people in 2017, over 50% rise in toll since 2016. In contrast, 803 people – including civilians, security personnel and suspected terrorists – died in terror-related activities.